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2.12. Balance of Free Exercise of Religion and Establishment Clause. Leaders at all levels must balance constitutional protections for their own free exercise of religion, including individual expressions of religious beliefs, and the constitutional prohibition against governmental establishment of religion. They must ensure their words and actions cannot reasonably be construed to be officially endorsing or disapproving of, or extending preferential treatment for any faith, belief, or absence of belief.

Wearing the uniform while doing that evangelizing is a reasonable construction of officially endorsing their faith by the military, and such is as much of a no-no as engaging in partisan politics while wearing the uniform, which violates the Hatch Act.

Colonel Crews is simply incorrect, and needs to get his facts straight. And Cadet Watkins needs to take off the uniform while evangelizing.

Mr. Carrigan;
After thinking about your letter for a while I have NOT been able to reconcile your claim that you are a Christian with your support of Donald Trump.
Like most guys, I've spent time in locker rooms. When in college I lived in dorms and a frat house. I too am a veteran. During those years I lived in barracks with a large cross-section of my fellow male Americans, poor to wealthy, educated to barely literate, and NEVER in ALL my experience, in ALL my life (and I'm an elderly geezer now) I never heard such vileness expressed toward women. No man that I encountered EVER asserted that he could sexually assault them with impunity because of WHO HE IS. By HIS OWN WORDS AND DEEDS Trump revealed that he feels free to lie, defraud, misrepresent, and insult anybody or any "group" of people he chooses, or to actually shoot someone on the street and not lose support. He has exposed again and again his moral depravity.
And there are apparently American citizens, like you, who are just fine with it.
Im sorry, Mr. Carrigan, but I have NO reason to think any better of anybody who backed or voted for this degenerate reprobate than I have for Trump himself...all the deplorables included.
Wear your "I voted for Trump" button if you're so proud of your vote, so I'll know the kind of character you carry around inside of you, regardless of your self-righteous claim of being a Christian.

Hey Robert HUH No shit just what Ive been saying Congress dont or wont listen to us until we the people demand the money be taken out of the Capitol. Congress is supposed to control the President and keep him in check The President should the Congress and the Courts all of them. In the last 6 years the Congress has not done anything. The President went forward with what ever he felt he needed to and we ended up in the mess were in. What the hell did Clinton have to do with it? She had no power and still dont. We are now in the same boat we were 6 years ago the Government controlled by one party with no balance of power. Congress regardless of what party wont listen to us the people so long as we allow the money to set the policy. The only way thats going to happen is vote in the ones that advocate getting rid of the lobby that is controlling the Congress.

Hey Rocky, Congress was supposed to control the President but FDR started shifting that power and it kept shifting. Congress then turned its attention toward campaign donors, not you or anyone else. Those with a lack of understanding of The Constitution and the adherence to it is what fails us all. Billary's people are blaming everything, everyone and missing the real culprit: her.
Ron Lowe Nevada City, California? WTF are you writing to this town for? Worn out your welcome there? I will be happy to talk with you about anything when you arrive here, that is if you can get that "older people" phrase out with your tongue still in your mouth otherwise you will sit and listen and you will learn-the hard way if you wish. Sorry about your children that you explain the world to. Not.
Gina! Hire new writers- "for-profit media are responsible for this, and will not report it as such". Care to qualify that statement? Try, I dare you. Then follow up with your sister's racist remark and what sort of people your parents were besides failures at raising children with brains. Detroit huh? Cheap housing and city council is all in jail, police response time is never and fireman must bring water from home because of______________?

Dan Marvin: Well, what did you expect from a con man RINO who is actually a Democrat? Ron Paul? (BTW, you would have gotten the same old S*** from Hillary, too!)

Robert B. Hoff: Or maybe he won't. Time will tell. But Hillary will try again in 2020 if she lives that long.

Ryan Carrigan: Thank you for your service, but you miss part of it. Clinton lost because she didn't campaign worth a crap on anything except that she wasn't Donald Trump.

Ken Burrows: Complain about Trump all you want, but with Hillary and her PC insanity, would it have been any better or different save the flip on who's acting out? Unlikely.

Ron Lowe: When you get a clue about how and why the Electoral College works, and that the Presidential election is not one national election but 51 state elections (and DC), then get back to us. We are not a democracy, so quit whining as if we were.

Gina Douglas: Have a binky for your whining. Your career criminal Hillary lost because she was a lousy candidate who campaigned poorly. Place your whining blame where it belongs: on her.

"Now that Donald Trump has been elected President of the United States of America, do you want to know why? It is simple: Hillary Clinton called me a 'deplorable....'" That's it, huh? You chose to be hurt or insulted or piqued or whateverthehell because you think she called you a name? Drumpf said Mexicans were murderers and rapists and must be kept out of our pristine white country with a impenetrable wall, and you were okay with that?? He called women "bitches" and "whores" and bragged that he could grab them by the private parts and they couldn't do anything about it--and that's alright with you? But god forbid Clinton call you something. He threatens to jail, deport, and otherwise harm people because of their choice of faith paths, dismembering families, separating parents and children, but that's no skin off your nose because you're not Muslim, right? You're not female, disabled, black, elderly, homeless, gay--so you're okay with all of the danger those "other" people are in. But, but, but--she called me a bad name!!! Sheesh....

Interesting letters this week. First off our system of the electoral college does work we vote in a Democratic way but count in the electoral so as to be true to our republic. That's what you tell your children the truth. If you remember correct Baby Bush won the same way. Time will tell if Trump makes the right calls for our Country with what powers he may have. I personally think things are going to put in that hand basket and go to that place Grandma warned us about. But we will see. Everybody wants some kind of change and looks to the President to do it but ignores the rest of our leadership where the changes are needed and that's Congress. All of our policy and laws come from that group and yet everyone looks to the President. Trump just like Obama and Bush is only going to get as much done as Congress allows and Congress is influenced by money. Not your vote not mine just by who ever has the most money and they are secure in there jobs because the voters are preoccupied by the Presidential election and whats promised to them by that one person. Everyone talks about coming together as one Nation but we keep voting one group over the other then the next time its the other groups turn after the first group screws up and blames the President. We need balance, compromise and solid leadership in all three branches of Government. Not one side takes all and we damn sure need the money taken out of the Capitol so the people have a voice again. The biggest problem with Obama was Congress not doing a damn thing and him going forward on his own with what few powers he had. We dont need more of that. But that's just my opinion.

Absolutely agree!!
And to the extent that the lack of transparency shown by CSF is mirrored by the city administration, great caution from the citizens of Colorado Springs is called for on both fronts.

Ahhhh, Tannim - the resident snarker and authority in chief. It's good to be home in Colorado again so I can again begin to get you to wipe the BS out of your eyes and see what a negative you are in any sensible conversation. All the letters and comments were spot on - especially the one where you commented that Democrats have had a long history of racism and bigotry - I agree, but most of us grew out of it, and Trump has brought it back to the fore. If this is who you are then you had better hope that someone opposed to your bigotry doesn't wipe up the floor of some bar with you. Mr. Armintor's issue with Trump U goes to the issue of character - Trump is not the non-politician he claims to be - he is a dyed in the wool political actor who will say anything to get the votes of each of the mini-groups he was able to drive wedge issues between. His staff's consulting with Putin's staff after the nomination, and his daughter's use of a photo op to sell her line of jewelry, coupled with the infomercial about the Trump Hotel in Washington being a gathering place for foreign diplomats and others seeking to curry Trump's favor are lining his pockets before he is even inaugurated give me great pause. The man has no character at all. To say that Hillary Clinton is in it for herself only and ignore the fact that Trump is exponentially more toxic in that area than she is to be blinded by ideology.

UCanSee, you obviously are drinking the Breitbart Kool-Aid, too. I read a lot, I have a high school friend who was Mayor of Little Rock, and I've probed for some speck of truth in this character assassination that has gone on for three decades but have found none. Oh, that Mayor of Little Rock was the only person to actually be convicted in the Whitewater/Lewinski fiasco and is not exactly on speaking terms with his former law office partner.

I got one question that maybe some of you can answer. If Clinton had really done all these horrible things why hasent she been convicted? Just saying innocent till proven guilty is still part of the American code. Is it not? Now before the " Right" jumps all over me for being "liberal" I didnt vote for Clinton or Trump I thought they both were the worst people in this Country to bring to the front. In my opinion Clinton had nothing to offer but what was in her baggage and Trumps ideas are ludicrous in this day and age. Draining the Swamp of Snakes and filling it with Alligators ant going to accomplish anything but more of the same that got us here.

Mary J Talbot: Good letter, but you had best send it to Lois "Absent" Landgraf as well.

Fred Kormos: So what? The Democrats have a long history of racism and misogyny, as statist tend to do, since actual freedom is anathema to them, regardless of being left or right.

Bob Armintor: Trump University has nothing to do with national security. Get your brain straight? Fat chance.

J.T. Welch: Get lost, comrade. You have no frickin' clue about much of anything. Try supporting freedom instead and maybe you'll eventually get educated enought to understand why it is the superior path.

Sally Alberts: Have a binky for your ridiciculous and infantile whining. You sound like you honestly believe that there's a serial rapist who hates anyone not WASP behind every tree. Grow Up!

Jim Bensberg: Ride all you want, but police your own, expecailly the idiots going way too fast on the crotch rockets up and down both Academy and I-25.

Bailey Thomas: Wrong question, posed by someone who doesn't understand economics. The better one to ask is why can't nations settle their differences in the sports arenas rather than the battlefields?

since we couldn't handle a candidate with a personal server... we get president elect p***y grabber. the rest is debunked garbage... find a source of news that involves facts. we cannot be living in a post factual society... come on people.

I can understand the Trump bashing, yet I cannot understand how anyone can think Clinton was a suitable alternative. Backing a pathological liar that has been involved in nearly a dozen sizeable "scandals" and who has left a trail of bodies behind her in every pursuit just makes no sense.

why were we in Iraq again... oh yeah, W the torturer lied us into a un-necessary war. Why did W the torturer kiss the Saudi's ass... I mean ring / cheek... ??? why did W the torturer send all his Saudi buddies home the day after 911... ??? every president has considered Saudi Arabia as an ally in the region. perhaps that will change when gump becomes prez... he will just steal oil from the afghan's... the spoils of war... right???

Under President Obama (who I voted for twice) we've sold about $110 billion of military weaponry (by far the most in our 70+ year alliance with the country) to Saudi Arabia- the closest nation the world has to being a true Caliphate. We toppled foriegn and soveriegn governments for selective economic interests, and groups like ISIS have filled the void of leadership.
It would have been great to not have Trump in the White House. When it became apparent that the DNC had corrupted the primary process (this has since been verified, even though we all really knew all along), effectively stealing the nomination from Bernie- where was the outrage? Instead, liberals and democrats got in line, and allowed the corruption of our democracy. Many liberals even defended it, saying HRC's been in politics so long, of course she would do corrupt things and we should grow up and vote for her anyways.
Nixon resigned for far less___

So what happened? I would say that we didn't deserve the presidency this go around. Thank god we didn't win it- imagine the precedent that would set? Forever submitting to the most corrupt politician with the ignorant and enabling consent that "politicians are just corrupt, we deal".

Again, to all the pseudo-liberals out there who saw the corruption of our system and encouraged all of us to roll over to it- this is on you.

As a veteran of the debacle in Iraq- take my word on it that our indiscriminate bombing of other nations- the 65 million refugees of the world which we largely caused displacement for -(highest # since the United Nations High Commission on Refugees started counting shortly after WW2)----- is the most important issue we need to address as a nation- not any of our chosen social causes, nothing beats this issue people.

If you vote for women's rights at home, for marijuana rights at home, for LGBT rights at home, but vote for politicians pledging support to Saudi Arabia, which actively practices sharia law and STONES TO DEATH- in the public arena, members of the aforementioned groups---- you really, really need to re-evaluate your activity in political processes.

The saddest thing is that Bernie would have won- and he didn't because he would have been a world peace president. We are going to keep killing innocents all over the world, regardless of who we try to elect. We will continue to topple soveriegn governments for select economic interests in deals made far from the public eye, and The coalescence of the pseudo-liberals to the agenda of the DNC, even though we all smell a rat- is the cause of us living in a tyrannical state where we have no Power to change anything.

Jacob Purdom - If you want to wear a helmet, wear a helmet. If you want to wrap yourself in bubble-wrap to stay "safe", go for it. For those of us that choose differently, we just want to be left alone to decide for ourselves how we want to ride. We're adults and we do not need a nanny to tell us how to live and ride.